306 East 5th Street; 306-308 East 5th Street | Block : 446 | Lot #11

Building Date : 1901
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : B. Cohen
Original Architect : Michael Bernstein

Description & Building Alterations

This six-story tenement building originally included a storefront in the basement. It was built in 1901 and designed by Michael Bernstein. It was to be occupied by 34 families.

The facade features ornamental window enframements, various forms of window lintels and decorative beltcourses. It appears that the top story has been largely altered, and the basement was reconfigured in a 1941 alteration that included removing the two stores and erecting a new front brick wall. The cornice was removed after the 1980s.

Block : 446 / Lot : 011 / Building Date : 1901 / Original Owner : B. Cohen / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Michael Bernstein

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What is the Building Blocks Project

What does a building mean to someone who lives there? A person who lives on the block? In the neighborhood? In the city? This site presents a wealth of historic information gained from GVSHP’s architectural research survey about the buildings located in the East Village.

The site explores the area generally considered today as the East Village: from a northern border of 14th Street to a southern border of Houston Street, Avenue D in the east to 4th Avenue/the Bowery to the west. You can explore the information about the blocks and buildings featured here in two ways.

Pick a block. Maybe it’s yours, or perhaps it is just your favorite place to shop, grab a bite, or just people watch. Then explore the buildings that make up that block. Or take one of the many guided tours on the site, curated by a collection of organizations and experts from the neighborhood. See how they experience the neighborhood. Then tell us what the neighborhood means to you. The site’s comments section allows you to open a dialogue with others who feel just as passionately as you do about the East Village.